


Lilac

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Action/Adventure, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2001-03-10
Updated: 2001-03-10
Packaged: 2019-05-15 23:05:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14799686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: A few things are learned the hard way when someone close the White House Senior Staff becomes a potential victim of a serial killer.





	1. Lilac

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

DISCLAIMER: I do not own them, except for the few I made up, and even they lack  
the Sorkin luster. I have no money; please do not sue unless you really want  
pocket lint. 

ARCHIVE: Go for it. 

CATERGORY: new character, Josh/Donna 

RATING: I'm going with R, to be on the safe side. Some explicit detail of  
certain murder victims. We'll say adult content and language. Mild violence, I  
guess. 

SUMMARY: A few things are learned the hard way when someone close to the White  
House senior staff becomes the potential victim of a serial killer. An Edith  
Lyman mystery. 

NOTE: I think I've been pretty accurate as far as procedure is concerned, but  
I'm not an FBI agent, so please allow any mistakes to fall under creative  
license. Contains some preliminary Josh/Donna stuff, so if that's not your  
thing please move on. Thank you, and enjoy! 

Lilac

  


<"Today, the families of murder victims Karen Harris, Miriam Smith, and Sarah  
Marcus of the DC/Baltimore area and five other teenage girls from three other  
states finally found closure. Their killer, David Jackson was caught today by  
local DC policemen and a team of FBI Special Agents. The agents had tracked  
Jackson's movement from upstate New York to Wisconsin to here in Washington, and  
made the arrest Friday night. We've been told that the Bureau was responsible  
for a psychological profile that enabled joint law enforcement teams to track  
the movements of Jackson and eventually make the arrest. A spokesman for the  
FBI team, Special Agent Edith Lyman, held a press conference Saturday...>

Donnatella Moss took another sip of her coffee and leaned back against the  
marble step of the Jefferson Memorial. "So you're officially transferred to DC  
now?" 

Edith Lyman yawned and leaned back alongside Donna. "Yep. I think that  
they think I'm too valuable to send back to New York. They like us shining  
stars right under their noses." 

"Must be nice to be appreciated." 

Edith snorted. "I'd rather just be left alone to do my job." 

Donna smiled. "I'd say you succeeded on that account." 

"Yeah," Edith said. "I still can't believe it's actually over, y'know?   
Eight months, Donna. I spent eight months of my life tracking down a serial  
killer that brutally murdered three teenage girls." 

The blond woman snorted. "Don't worry, there'll b plenty more." 

Edith studied her. "How is that gun bill coming?" 

"Slow and very unsteady," she shrugged. "Mostly due to re-election.   
The President's going to have to be careful where he puts his foot down. There  
could be a couple of rusty Republican nails waiting for him." 

"But you guys got that whole crap with Senator Kramer under control,  
right?" 

Donna smirked. "I don't personally know how, but Toby, Josh, and Leo  
somehow smacked it down so hard and so quiet that nobody in Congress even  
remembers it was proposed anymore." 

Edith laughed. "Never underestimate the power of just plain  
intimidation." 

"There was more to it than that, I'm sure, but intimidation always comes  
in handy to Josh-the-master-enforcer. I just hope he doesn't start that keg of  
glory crap again." 

"'Keg of glory'?" 

Donna waved a hand. "Never mind." 

"Sure." 

"Thanks for lunch." 

"My pleasure." Edith sat up. "Hey, Donna, I have to ask you  
something." 

She nodded. "Fire away." 

"Josh mentioned last week that your roommate moved out, and that you're  
fishing around for another." 

Donna smiled. "You know, when somebody says 'I have to ask you  
something' it usually implies that their next comment will be in question form." 

Edith laughed. "Yeah, so...you still looking for a roomie?" 

"Not anymore. My boss's cousin is moving in with me." 

They both laughed. "Great, Donna. You have no idea the migraine you've  
just saved me." 

"Hey, I saved myself a migraine, too. The last woman I interviewed  
wanted to know if it was okay to grow marijuana in the apartment." 

"And you passed up free pot?" 

"The woman before that wanted to know if it was alright to wear her  
leather bustier around." 

"Kinky." 

"And the woman before her..." 

Edith laughed. "Okay, okay. I get your point." 

Donna grinned. "Good." She glanced at her watch. "It's getting late.   
I need to head back to the White House. If I'm not there fifteen minutes before  
Josh I'll never catch up on the work I need to get done. He'll come in with  
fifty things for me to do at once and expect me to have them all don at the same  
time." 

"And then you promptly put him in touch with reality, I presume?" 

"Of course."

"Donna!" 

She took another sip of her coffee, set it back down, and then calmly  
proceeded to flip through the manila folder she was holding. 

"Donna!" Josh poked his head out his office door. "Where's the Smith  
Memo?" 

"On your desk, like I told you ten minutes ago." 

"Oh. Okay." 

He disappeared back in side for all of two seconds. "Donna, I can't  
find �" 

"Try looking under the trash from your lunch that's still sitting on your  
desk when it should be in the garbage can." 

"Cute. Thanks." 

"I live to serve." 

Donna set the folder down, picked up another, removed three pages from  
it, and placed it in the first folder. She frowned to herself as she read the  
pages. It wasn't going to work. It was practically the same gun statistics  
they always ended up arguing. Nothing the Hill hadn't heard before, and nothing  
the NRA hadn't already had experience tackling before. 

It took Josh all of five minutes to reappear. "Hey, Donna, can you get  
me..." he trailed off. "You okay?" 

"Yeah." 

"Donna?" 

"Yeah. Here's those stats you wanted." 

"Thanks." Josh turned back towards his office. 

"Josh." 

He spun around. "What?" 

Donna raised an eyebrow. "You wanted something?" 

"Oh, yeah. Can you get me Edith on the phone?" 

"Sure. What do you need her for?" 

He leaned against the edge of her desk. "She's transferred to DC now, so  
�" 

"So she needs an apartment." Donna smiled. 

"Uh, yeah, and I think I found her a nice one over by �" 

Donna's smile widened. "You mean you found us a nice one." 

Josh blinked. It was so easy to mess with him sometimes. "What exactly  
do you mean when you say 'us'?" 

"Edith and myself. We're roommates." 

Josh blinked again. "When did this happen?" 

"Over lunch." 

"You went to lunch with my cousin?" 

"Yeah." 

"And didn't tell me?" 

"Yeah." 

"Why?" 

"Because we're friends and believe it or not, she's a big girl. She can  
even tie her own shoe laces." 

He gave her that look that said he wasn't going to justify her last  
remark with a reply. Donna knew it was simply because he couldn't come up with  
one. 

"Yeah," he said, "I'm going to go, y'know, actually work now." 

"Sure." 

"Okay." 

"Okay." She waited until he took a few steps before she said. "Hey,  
Josh?" 

He turned around. "Yeah." 

She looked over her shoulder at him. "If you want to go ahead and give  
me the address of that apartment, Edith and I can go take a look later." Oh,  
this was way too much fun. 

He ran a hand through his hair, obviously still trying to adjust to the  
idea. "Yeah, sure. I'll give it to you before you leave today." 

"Okay." 

"Yeah." 

"Go back to work, Josh." 

"Yeah." 

TBC

  


	2. Lilac 2

 

SEE PART ONE FOR DISCLAIMER AND INFO.

There was a knock on the door. Donna put down the book she was reading  
and got up to answer it as a second knock came, followed by a familiar "Donna!".   
Figured. Couldn't have just been Edith. 

She opened the door and glared at Joshua Lyman. "Do you really expect  
the door to just automatically open after the first knock?" 

"Yes." 

"You do realize that it's an extremely stupid assumption?" 

"Yes." 

Edith, who was standing beside Josh, held up a hand. "Okay, can we  
argue this in the living room? I think there's a leak in this hallway right  
above my head." 

"Sure." Donna moved aside so they could pass through, weighted down by  
Edith's luggage. 

"The rest of my stuff's coming this weekend. I paid the lady across the  
hall to pack and ship it here." Edith smiled. 

"That's the spirit. Never commit to physical labor when you can bribe  
someone else to do it for you." 

"Precisely my theory, Josh." 

Donna snorted. "Second bedroom's back there to the left." 

Edith looked around. "This is very �" 

"Small," Donna finished. 

She smiled. "Actually, I was thinking 'quaint'. But you do honestly  
have it fixed up nice." 

"Thanks." 

Josh reappeared from the other bedroom, having carried Edith's bag back  
there. "Even if it is in the middle of a crappy neighborhood." 

"Well, Josh, some of us can't afford to �" 

He held up a hand. "Don't start the raise stuff again. Please. I have  
enough of a headache already." 

"Fine." 

Edith took off her coat and set it on the rack beside the door. "You  
know, conversations between the two of you are just plain weird." 

"Yeah, well, that's Donna's fault." 

"That's his usual answer when he screws something up." 

"It's nice to feel the all the warm support I get from you, Donna." 

Edith sighed. "Okay, can you two stop bickering like an old married  
couple for five minutes so we can order pizza?" 

Donna shrugged and led them into the kitchen. "Sure. There's beer in  
the fridge." 

Josh blinked. "You keep beer in your refrigerator?" 

Donna smiled as she pulled out a chair and sat down at the kitchen  
table. Edith bee-lined for the phone. "Yep, Josh. Some of us don't have  
sensitive systems." 

"Thanks, Donna." 

Her smile widened. But before she could answer, Edith interjected. "I  
ordered a large pepperoni with extra cheese and didn't ask you two because if I  
did you wouldn't be able to reach an agreement before my stomach devoured  
itself." 

"Okay," Josh said. 

Edith sat down. "And whatever Donna's got in her fridge, can we start  
drinking it, because if I don't I'm likely to strangle you both before the  
night's over." 

"Okay," Donna said. 

"I'll get it," Josh said as he stood. "Let's see...Rolling Rock,  
Guinness, Zima, Woodchuck, Mike's Hard Lemonade, two bottles of White Grenache..."  
he looked up at her. "Donna, you're an alcoholic." 

"Actually those are the leftovers from Karen's moving out party." 

"Oh." 

"Pass me a Rolling Rock will you?" 

"Sure. Edith?" 

"Same." 

He sat back down with three Rolling Rocks and passed two of the bottles  
to them. "I'm not even going to ask what you have in the liquor cabinet." 

"You wouldn't be able to drink it anyway, lightweight." 

"Drink your damn beer, Donna." 

"Will do." 

And Edith sighed again.

A few weeks later... 

Edith Lyman yawned and stretched; thanking God that it was a Saturday.   
She rolled over and glanced at the alarm clock. It read nine am. She smiled  
and snuggled back down under the comforter, thinking how wonderful it was that  
she didn't have to get up yet. 

And then her cell phone rang. 

She muttered a curse and flung the comforter aside, searching though the  
pile of clothes on the floor to find the cursed object. Finally retrieving it  
from underneath yesterday's suit jacket, she flipped it open. 

"Agent Lyman." 

"It's Frank." 

Edith sighed. "You always say that, Frank, like I can't recognize your  
voice or anything." 

"We got a live one." 

"What?" 

"Get down here as soon as you can, okay?" 

"Yeah. Bye." Edith flipped it closed and cursed again, yanking a suit  
out of the closet and getting dressed as quickly as possible. 

Twenty minutes later she was walking into her office on the third floor  
of the J. Edgar Hoover building, a badge swinging from the suit jacket's pocket.   
Frank looked up from where he sat behind her desk. "Glad you're here." 

She nodded. "What's up?" 

She sat in the visitor's chair as he handed her a file. "Two days ago  
Claudia Brown was reported missing." Edith opened the file to stare at the  
photo of a brunette in her thirties. "She was last seen at a Georgetown bar,  
Monday night around eleven, p.m. Thursday morning her roommate reports her  
missing. Friday morning, this is found scratched into the apartment door."   
Frank handed her a photograph. 

Edith frowned. "A cross?" 

Frank nodded and handed her another file. "Two months ago a woman was  
kidnapped in Baltimore. Harriet Connor was also last seen at a bar. Her body  
showed up three weeks later in a dumpster that was left unlocked overnight.   
Police had found the small cross carved into her door as well. A friend of mine  
works homicide in Baltimore and mentioned it to me before, which is how I linked  
the two. You want to know the most gruesome part?" 

"What?" 

"Autopsy indicated that she was raped, had her throat slit, and then a  
little while later her corpse was sexually assaulted again." 

Edith frowned at a black and white photograph of the crime scene. "Her  
body wasn't placed in a trash bag of any kind?" 

"No, it doesn't look like it." 

Edith scanned the autopsy report, and something caught her eye.   
"Coroner found lesions at the corner of the eyes and mouth. He kept her gagged  
and blindfolded. Lesions were also found at the ankles and wrists. He kept her  
bound as well." She scanned a little further. "Autopsy also indicates  
malnutrition, severe dehydration and some tissue damage from frost bite." She  
frowned again and held out the report for Frank to see. "And look, the coroner  
said there was evidence of...'small animal teeth marks, most likely from a rodent  
of some sort'." 

Frank rubbed the bridge of his nose. "He kept her in a basement." 

"Yeah. And wasn't inclined to take good care of her." 

"Well, that's a bit of an understatement." 

Edith sighed and leaned back in the chair. "It's all about control. He  
keeps her bound, starving, cold, takes advantage of her, kills her, and then  
finally defiles her corpse. The cross would indicate a religious zealot, who  
probably views these two women as the 'corrupting woman'." 

"In this guy's twisted head? Yeah." 

"Okay, while the other guys are on witnesses and such, let's take a  
little trip over to Baltimore to see...Harriet Connor's...apartment to see if we can  
find any correlation between her and Claudia Brown, because it's sure as hell  
not a physical similarity. One's a thin, white brunette while the other's a  
rather rounder blond woman. No similarity in occupation, and...no similarity in  
location." 

"Fine. We'll take my car." 

"Okay." 

They both stood and reached for their coats. "Edith?" 

"Yeah?" 

Frank looked at her with that look he usually gave her when he didn't  
like their odds. "Three weeks it took him to kill Harriet Connor." 

"Yeah." 

"We've got three weeks." 

"If that." 

He frowned. "What do you mean?" 

"Cycles this violently dominating have a good chance of accelerating.   
Especially if there's a sex crime or sexual motive involved." 

"Great." 

"Yeah. Let's go." 

TBC


	3. Lilac 3

 

SEE PART ONE FOR DISCLAIMER AND INFO

  


"I boxed up all her stuff and put it down here. She ain't got no family  
to speak of, and I figured I'd give it to Good Will if no one ever showed up to  
claim it." Edith and Frank nodded at the elderly woman as she opened a storage  
room in the bottom of Harriet Connor's apartment building. The super placed the  
keys back in the pocket of her bathrobe, and shuffled back down the hallway past  
them. "Just come get me when you're done." 

"Thanks, Mrs. Mason!" Edith called after her. The aging super waved a  
hand to dismiss it as she disappeared up the stairs. 

Frank eyed the five large cardboard boxes. "You've got the police  
inventory?" 

"Yeah." 

"Let's get started, then."

"Got anything?" 

Edith leaned back against the wall and sighed. "Not anything that's  
jumping out at me. You?" 

Frank frowned at the box he was sifting through. "Some photographs, but  
not much to go on. Just her and a couple of friends, none male. Doesn't seem  
to be the type to wear a lot of makeup, or clothes that are too 'improper', so  
that rules out the blatant Jezebel thing." His frowned deepened. Edith sat up  
straighter. "Wait a second..." 

She got up and walked over to him. "What?" 

He pointed at the photograph he was holding as she peered at it over his  
shoulder. "This is a photograph of the interior of Hadley's Grill. I know,  
I've been there with Jim before. Look towards the upper right." 

Edith looked. There was a man, intently staring towards Harriet Connor,  
who in the picture was leaning against a jukebox. Around his thirties, she  
thought, with short, curly black hair. Non-descript looking, really, around  
average, except for the none too pleasant expression dragging down the corners  
of his mouth. "Frank, I can't really be sure, but..." 

"You think it's him, too?" 

"Yeah." 

"Hadley's Grill is the last place Harriet Connor was seen alive." 

"I know." 

"Let's go talk to the owner, and then go get this analyzed." 

Edith stood and scratched the back of her neck. "Let's take this stuff  
with us. There's got to be some kind of connection between Harriet Connor and  
Claudia Brown." 

"We may not need to worry about that now, Edith." 

"We still have to find him even if we identify him, Frank. And we may  
be too late. Pack the stuff up, okay?" 

"Right."

One Week Later... 

"So the owner of Hadley's confirmed that the photo was taken on the night  
Harriet Connor was abducted?" 

Edith groaned and slid farther down on the sofa. "Yeah." 

Donna took another bite of her macaroni and cheese. "But he couldn't  
confirm the guy's identity?" 

"Nope. You know, I shouldn't even be discussing this with you." 

"I know. But you are." 

"Yeah." Edith pushed her reading glasses back up on her nose and reread  
the same pieces of paper she'd been scanning for the last half hour. 

"You sure you don't want any macaroni and cheese?" 

"Yeah." 

Donna was silent for a few moments, trying to concentrate on her late  
dinner and Conan O'Brien. Edith was frowning fiercely at the papers and  
muttering under breath. They must've been an interesting sight, the two of  
them. One blonde woman still clad in her work suit, eating a bowl of Kraft  
macaroni and cheese, and one brunette in pajama pants and a Dave Matthews Band  
t-shirt, reviewing something related to a violent murder case. 

"Damn." 

Donna looked up. "What's wrong?" 

Edith took off her glasses and set them on top of the manila folder on  
the coffee table. She waved the papers she was holding. "Inventory lists of  
the two women's apartments. I can't find any correlation between them. They  
were two totally different women, Donna. There's nothing to link them." 

"It couldn't have been just two random women he happened to see in bars?" 

She rubbed the bridge of her nose. "It could be, but I doubt it. With a  
killer this obsessed, there's usually something in particular that sets him off;  
that brings his attention to a certain victim. Why the crosses on the doors?   
If we don't find him this time around, I have a nasty gut instinct that he's  
going to strike again. Actually, I'm almost certain he will." 

"Maybe you just need to take a break for a little bit," Donna said,  
getting up to take her bowl to the kitchen. "You know, give your mind a little  
rest. Then when you come back to it you'll see something you missed before." 

"Yeah." Her cell phone rang. "Toss that here, will you? It's probably  
Frank." 

Donna picked it up off her end of the coffee table and tossed to Edith,  
who flipped it open. "Agent Lyman." 

The conversation faded out of Donna's hearing as she entered the kitchen.   
She set her bowl in the sink and poured herself a glass of Coke as the phone on  
the wall rang. Donna muttered something under her breath and picked it up.   
"Hello?" 

"Hey, Donna, is Edith still around? I couldn't get her cell." 

She took a sip of her drink. "That's 'cause she's on it, Josh. Sounds  
important, too. Why, what's up?" 

"Nothing, I just..." he sounded a little odd. Come to think of it, he'd  
acted a little odd today, as well. Well, not really odd, just more quiet than  
usual. Donna didn't think it had anything to do with Josh feeling bad for  
calling her in to work on a Saturday. Never stopped him before. 

"You okay?" 

"Yeah," he said, but he still sounded odd. "I just...I found something  
Edith should have, that's all. You care if I bring it over to her?" 

"No, of course not, Josh." 

"Thanks. Tell her not to go anywhere for a little bit, okay?" 

"Yeah." 

"Alright. Bye, Donna." 

"Bye, Josh." She hung up the phone. Now that was definitely weird.   
What the hell was going on? "Hey, Edith..." Donna trailed off as she entered the  
living room where Edith was no longer in her pajamas and sitting on the couch. 

Edith instead came rushing out of her bedroom, back in her suit, fitting  
her gun into its holster at her hip. "I gotta go, Donna. Frank talked to a  
witness cops found at the Georgetown bar where Claudia Brown was last seen." 

"You got an ID?" 

"Yeah, a pretty positive one." She stuffed the file back into her  
backpack and slung it across her shoulders. "I'll be back late, just so you  
don't worry. I have the feeling it'll be a long night." 

"Okay..." Donna said. Wait...there was something she was supposed to tell  
her. "Oh! Edith!" 

She turned around at the door. "Yeah?" 

"Josh was coming over to give you something. Do you want me to tell him  
to stick around?" 

Edith frowned. "To give me something?" She shook her head. "No, like I  
said, I'll be late if I don't just end up sleeping on Frank's office couch  
again. Tell him I'll find him tomorrow." 

"Okay. Be careful." 

She smiled. "Yes, Mommy." And she was shutting the door behind her. 

Donna went back to the kitchen to wash out her bowl, and didn't even  
realize that she'd forgotten to call Josh until he knocked at the door. 

TBC


	4. Lilac 4

 

SEE PART ONE FOR DISCLAIMER AND INFO  
LILAC PART 4

"Hey." 

"Hey." Donna stepped aside to let Josh in. He was carrying a small  
cardboard box, obviously containing what he'd planned to give Edith. "I'm  
sorry, Josh, I forgot to call you back. Edith's not here." 

"Oh." He frowned. "Where'd she go?" 

Donna waved a hand as she sat down on the couch. "They got some sort of  
identification on a murder case, so she had to run out. She did say that she'd  
find you tomorrow." 

"Yeah," he said. "Okay." 

Donna folded her hands in front of her and looked up at him. "Josh?" 

"What?" 

"Sit." 

"Donna-" 

"Sit." 

He sighed and sat down on the couch next to her, and she turned her body  
to face him. "What's wrong, Josh?" 

The cardboard box was sitting on the floor beside his feet. "I can't  
just wait for her? How long is she going to be?" 

"Joshua." 

Josh finally met her gaze. "Nothing's wrong, it's just..." 

"You've been unusually quiet all day, you didn't once ask me to bring  
you coffee, you're avoiding direct questions, and you really expect me to  
believe that nothing's wrong?" 

Josh sort of half-smirked. "You wouldn't have brought me coffee anyway,  
Donnatella." 

She smiled back. "True." She put a hand on Josh's arm. "Josh, I'm not  
going to make you tell me anything. But something is definitely bothering you." 

Josh sighed and studied his hands for a minute, then leaned back against  
the couch and stared at the ceiling as he spoke. "When I was nine years old,  
one evening my parents went out and left my sister in charge of me. Joanie was  
fourteen. There...was a fire, and they determined later that the popcorn maker  
that had been left on accidentally caused it. She died seven hours later in the  
emergency room as a result of smoke inhalation." 

"Josh..." 

"Today's Joanie's birthday." 

Donna didn't really think, just reached over and put her arms around  
him. He leaned gratefully against her and sighed again, but didn't cry. He'd  
already cried for Joanie, he didn't think she'd want any more of his tears. But  
he held on to Donna because it just made him feel better to hold her. 

Finally Donna pulled away, and he felt a little twinge of regret. A  
little twinge that had become a bit more frequent recently. "Anyway," he said,  
"I wanted to give this to Edith." He lifted the box and handed it to Donna. She  
carefully pulled apart the flaps and lifted out an old, worn, battered stuffed  
bunny rabbit. "It was Joanie's when she was really little. Edith used to spend  
the summers at our house when we were kids, and she was scared of thunderstorms,  
even though she never admitted it. So Joanie would let her sleep with Jojo to  
make her feel better." 

Donna smiled. "'Jojo'?" 

Josh smirked. Donna had this odd power to make him feel better. "Yeah,  
I told her it was a geek name, but she didn't listen." 

She looked back up to Josh's face. "I think Edith will appreciate it.   
Do you want me to leave it in her room?" 

"Yeah," he said. "I'll go ahead and leave it with you, and she can come  
see me tomorrow if she...y'know." 

"Yeah." Donna got up and carried Jojo to Edith's room and gently set it  
on the unmade bed. When she returned, Josh was still sitting on the couch, an  
odd expression on his face. Donna sat down beside him again, not saying  
anything, just being there. 

"Y'know, she's a lot like Joanie." 

"Edith?" 

"Yeah. She's got the same sense of humor, the same ability to just...I  
don't know, make anyone feel at ease. She never backs down from an argument,  
and she's so full of energy." 

"Sounds a lot like another member of the Lyman family. Well, except for  
the whole 'make anyone feel at ease' part. You seem to set people on edge." 

He laughed. "It's great, the amount of support I get from you, Donna." 

"That's what I'm here for. Seriously, though, is that why you and she  
seem to have clicked, even though you haven't seen each other in years?" 

"I think so, yeah. I mean, Edith's not Joanie. She's never been.   
She's...Edith. But we were always more like siblings than cousins to begin with,  
so it's like..." He sighed. "It's like having a sister again." 

Donna smiled and put an arm around Josh. He looked at her and smiled  
back. She suddenly realized the enormous amount of emotional scar tissue this  
man was carrying. His sister died in a fire, his father died at one of the most  
important moments of Josh's life, and he very nearly lost his own life this past  
summer, the emotional repercussions of which he would have to deal with for  
years to come. 

Josh was frowning at her, and she realized that there were tears  
stinging her eyes. Damn it. "Donna?" he whispered. 

She couldn't help it. She just pulled him into a hug and held him,  
resting her head on top of his. To her mild surprise he didn't pull away after  
a few moments and instead pulled her a bit tighter. "I want you to know that no  
matter what happens, Josh, I'm here. I know it sounds cliché, but it's true. I  
don't ever want you to feel like you have to deal with anything by yourself." 

"I know," he murmured. 

"You're not alone, Josh." 

He pulled away slightly and looked up at her. "I know, Donnatella."   
And he smiled. "I have my best friend. I have you." Up until that moment,  
Josh Lyman had never really realized that Donna Moss was probably the best thing  
that had ever come into his life. He realized at that moment that he honestly  
did not know how he would survive without her. A corny sentiment, but  
completely true. She was part of the force that helped drive him in his work,  
and right now she was just about the only glue holding his pieces together. 

And he didn't realize for another full moment that he was kissing her. 

Well, not kissing, not really. But he pressed his lips to the top of her  
forehead and then pulled her against him. Not that he didn't want to really  
kiss her at that moment. Hell, he could probably pick her up and carry her to  
the bedroom if it weren't for the fact that it just wasn't right. He was  
recovering, but he wasn't there yet. And he didn't want to risk what he had  
with Donna right now. He needed it far too much. There was just too much of  
Josh spread too thin as it was. The bottom line was that he just didn't have  
enough to give her right now. 

And the truly amazing thing was that Donna seemed to understand that.   
She just lay there, leaning against him for a few precious minutes of  
companionable silence. Then she sat up with a smile. "Since you're obviously  
sticking around for a while..." 

"I am?" 

"Yes." 

"Okay." 

"It's time I subjected you to the horror that is a Donna Moss Saturday  
night." 

"Y'know, somehow, I really don't like the sound of that." 

She smiled again. "It's nothing really, just popcorn and old movies." 

"What kind of old movies?" Josh asked a bit warily. 

Donna grinned. "You're in luck. Tonight's an Arsenic and Old Lace  
night, followed by The Maltese Falcon." 

He smirked. "I can deal with that." 

"Good. I'll make the popcorn." 

"Could you bring me a cup of coffee while you're at it?" 

"Bite me." 

TBC


	5. Lilac 5

 

SEE PART ONE FOR INFO  
PART 5

"Edith?" 

The voice was soft, tentative, over her shoulder. Although she really  
could care less right now if Frank was trying to be nice or not. All she could  
think of was the fact that Claudia Brown's body was found a mere hour after they  
had the ID. Coroner said the body was still warm, and roughly without the  
detail of an autopsy placed the time of death at around three hours earlier. 

Three hours. 

A hand was placed on her shoulder. She was pretty sure it was Frank's.   
But she still stared at the open warehouse door with the crime scene tape and  
ant farm of police and FBI activity. 

Three hours earlier a terrified Claudia Brown had stared up at her  
killer moments before he slit her throat. 

"Come on, Edith, snap out of it." Impatience was finally starting to  
work its way through Frank's voice. Well, it was his own damn fault. He should  
know by know that Edith Hephzibah Lyman did not take defeat easily. In fact,  
she didn't like to take it at all. 

Three hours. 

"Frank, I swear to God if you don't remove your hand from my shoulder,  
I'm going to remove it for you. Surgically." She turned and faced a rather  
relieved Frank. You know, he was kind of oddly and annoyingly endearing when he  
was worried about her. Donna had pointed out to her several times since meeting  
him that he was an attractive man. And that was absolutely the last thing she  
wanted to think about right now. 

His hand dropped from her shoulder. "Agent Baker went over and checked  
the apartment again. Still vacated." 

"Yeah. This Edward Boreman's a bit of a slippery bastard." 

"Well, he's all degrees of bastard if you ask me." 

"Six aliases, Frank, and I'm sure he's come up with another." 

"We'll find him." 

"Yeah." She rubbed the back of her neck. "Come on, let's grab some  
Chinese somewhere. This is going to be one hell of a long night." 

"You think?" 

"Tonight is so very not the night you want to piss me off, Frank. Let's  
go." 

"Yeah."

  


It was six in the morning by the time Edith finally made it back to apartment.   
She still was far too pissed off and worked up to be tired, though. Might as  
well catch the morning news and go ahead and make a pot of coffee. 

She placed her coat on the rack and entered into the living room. She  
noticed that the TV was on and that someone was asleep on the couch, but she  
didn't pay much attention, assuming it was Donna. She seemed to have that  
tendency on Saturday nights when she had her popcorn and old movie thing. 

In the bathroom she sighed as she slipped out of her suit at last and  
grabbed a shower. There was no way in hell she was going to sleep. She didn't  
actually anticipate sleep until this damn case was over. Not to mention the  
fact that she felt the dire need of a shower, after feeling tainted by the  
night's proceedings. She swore, even despite the clinging odor of Chinese food  
and the air freshener in her office that the smell of decay in that warehouse  
was still with her. It still filled her nostrils with the horror of what had  
happened to Claudia Brown. But she wouldn't have been killed in that warehouse.   
No, she would've been killed elsewhere. Not in Boreman's own basement, that she  
doubted very much. 

Back in her room she changed into khakis and a long-sleeved blue shirt,  
not wanting to wear another suit, but still wanting to be ready if she needed to  
go to the office. Her gun and holster she just placed in her top nightstand  
drawer. 

Which drew her attention to her bed. 

It couldn't be. Edith picked up the old, worn, stuffed bunny rabbit and  
looked at it carefully. It couldn't possibly be the one Joanie used to...   
Abruptly, she remembered Donna telling her that Josh said he had something to  
give her. He must've come by and dropped it off anyway. 

He gave her Jojo. 

Edith felt tears stinging her eyes for the first time in the many years  
since her beloved cousin's death. She clutched Jojo as she cried for Joanie, as  
she cried for the pain it caused Josh, and as she cried her frustration over the  
people she couldn't save. Karen Harris. Miriam Smith. Sarah Marcus. And the  
newest additions, Harriet Connor and Claudia Brown. 

"Edith?" 

She jumped up and spun around, startled. "Josh?! What the hell are you  
doing here?" 

Josh stood in the doorway, still in the remnants of what had to be  
yesterday's suit. His tie and jacket were missing, his sleeves rolled up, and  
he looked the far side of rumpled. He ran a hand through his hair, also  
completely rumpled. "Donna and I were watching movies and I fell asleep. I  
guess she didn't want to wake me." He gestured with a thumb over his shoulder  
towards the living room. "You know, you guys have an amazingly comfortable  
couch." 

"Yeah," Edith said. She bit her lip. "You gave me Jojo." 

"Yeah." He just looked at her. 

Edith closed the space between them and grabbed him in a big bear hug.   
"Thank you, Josh. I love you, despite the fact that you're utterly despicable  
and I can't believe I'm related to you." 

He hugged her back just as tightly. "Same goes for you, Hephzibah." 

"Oh, shut up, Solomon." Edith pulled away. "I'm going to make coffee.   
You want breakfast?" 

"You can cook?" 

"I can scramble eggs and fry bacon okay." 

"Sounds great." 

They headed to the kitchen, and there Edith turned on the morning news,  
made coffee, and started to fry the bacon. Josh sat down at the table and  
switched the channel to CNN. They shared the kitchen in a few silent,  
companionable minutes until a confused looking Donna entered, still in her  
pajamas and a bathrobe. 

"It's like morning with the Cleavers," she said, taking a mug from a  
cabinet and pouring herself coffee. 

"My, aren't you pleasant in the morning, Donnatella?" 

"I try, Joshua. And no, I'm not handing you a cup of coffee." 

He sighed. "I didn't think so." He stood and poured himself a cup  
while Donna added milk and sugar to hers. An idle thought crossed his mind �  
Was this what it would be like? � and he firmly shook it away. Besides, as much  
as he loved his cousin, he didn't envision her as part of his and Donna's  
married mornings. Married? Where the hell were these thoughts coming from and  
why wouldn't they stop? Josh again shoved any of those thoughts to the back of  
his head. 

It was made easier by the CNN headline of the murder of a woman named  
Claudia Brown, and Donna's subsequent gasp. Josh blinked, a bit confused.   
Edith studiously began scrambling the eggs. 

Donna turned towards Edith. "Rough night?" 

Edith snickered, but it wasn't exactly a good-natured sound. "You could  
say that, yeah." 

Suddenly it clicked. "Edith, was that the case you..." 

"Yeah." 

"Did you catch him or her?" 

"Him, and no." 

"Not yet, though, right?" Donna asked, sounding concerned. 

"Yeah," Edith said, still concentrating on the eggs. 

"But you got an ID." 

Edith turned around with a sigh. "Edward Boreman, thirty three years of  
age, medium height, fairly handsome, short, curly black hair. He likes to  
kidnap women of a demographic we can't identify yet, keep them bound in some  
sort of basement, where they are starved, dehydrated, and suffer from mild  
hypothermia. After a rapidly accelerating cycle of time, he likes to rape them,  
slit their throats, and then sexually assault their corpses again. Is that  
enough detail for everybody? Or would you like me to go into even more detail?   
I can whip out the coroner's report for you." 

"Edith..." 

She ignored Josh. "You know the scariest part? I can tell you why he  
does it, I can tell you why he likes it, hell, I can probably even tell you how  
it started. But I can't tell you who's next. Because I don't know. I don't  
know what connected Harriet Connor and Claudia Brown, and I don't know what's  
going to set him off on the next woman he tortures." 

She turned back to the stove. "Eggs are done." 

For a long moment, all either Josh or Donna could do was stare. And  
then Josh, recognizing the unspoken need for the subject to be dropped, said,  
"I'll grab the plates." 

Donna grabbed the silverware and napkins, while Josh also poured the  
orange juice. Edith served the food, and they ate and carried on a normal  
conversation, trying to give a basis of normality in a world that was rapidly  
turning on its head. 

TBC


	6. Lilac 6

 

SEE PART ONE FOR INFO  
PART 6

"There's something that's just...wrong about this Frank." Edith was pacing  
around her office, tossing a drumstick in her hand. It was her Thinking  
Drumstick. Frank had always found it a little odd, but he thankfully hadn't  
commented on it since the first week they were assigned as partners. 

"You think?" Frank was leaning back in the guest chair with his feet  
propped up on her desk, even though he had an office of his own. 

She spun around. "No, I mean...hell, I don't know. There's just  
something that doesn't feel right about the accelerated cycle." 

"You predicted it, Edith." 

She put the drumstick down and placed both hands on her desk, leaning  
forward. "I know, but it's...wrong." 

"Wrong how?" 

Edith sat down and continued fidgeting with her drumstick. She stopped.   
"It's too fast." 

"'Too fast'." 

"Yes," she said, staring off into space. "It's...it's like he's been  
rushed." She brought her attention back to Frank, who was staring at her like  
it had all suddenly snapped into place. 

"He hasn't left DC." 

"Exactly." Frank dropped his feet and sat up straight as he listened to  
her. Edith set the Thinking Drumstick down. It had done its job. "Boreman  
picks up the scent of our investigation. He knows we're after him. He panics  
that he might not be able to get the job done and kills Claudia Brown ahead of  
schedule." 

"Must've pissed him off." 

"Exactly. He feels unfulfilled, like he still didn't get the job done." 

"And his desire to fulfill this disgusting urge of his has taken over  
any sense of self-survival and common sense." 

"Again, Dr. Watson, precisely." Edith grinned. 

"You know, I could really deal without this whole Holmes/Watson analogy  
you insist upon bringing up every time we have a case." But he was smiling too  
much for Edith to really take his comment to heart. 

"Deal with it, Agent Thompson. We've got a trail to sniff." 

"Have I ever told you that you're extremely sexy when you're right?" 

"Bite me, Frank." 

"Though the hostility doesn't really help much." 

Edith raised an eyebrow at him. "Frank, so help me God..." 

He held up his hands in a conciliatory gesture. "I'm just saying-" 

"Go." 

"Gone."

  


Edith was again going through the two inventory lists when the phone rang.   
They may not catch Boreman in the time it took him to hunt down another victim.   
"Agent Lyman," she answered. Ridiculous. Right in DC. Right under the nose of  
the FBI mother ship. 

"Edith? It's Donna." 

"Hey, what's up?" 

"Nothing much. I know you're working like hell on this case, but  
Clarence is having a party tonight and I thought I might as well ask you if you  
wanted to go." 

Edith chewed her lower lip for a moment. "Clarence. Isn't he the gay  
guy that works at the bookstore? His boyfriend's the really cute Italian guy,  
right?" 

"Yep. He's also the one who said you had fabulous taste in dress  
suits." 

"Right. I knew there was a reason I liked him." 

Donna laughed. "Yeah. I figured you were going to keep working, but I  
thought I'd ask, y'know, as one of those nice roommate things." 

"Well, I appreciate the thought, Donna, but you're right. I am still  
going to keep working. But, hey, at least you now have a chance to try out all  
that new Bath and Body Works crap you bought this weekend." 

"It's not crap, thank you very much. It's all Lilac Breeze." 

"Lilac, right. Listen, have a good time, be careful, and tell Clarence  
I said he has good taste in men." 

She laughed again. "Right. Don't work yourself to death, although I  
know that's a favorite pastime with you and Josh both." 

They said goodbye, and Edith hung up the receiver. Something tugged at  
the corner of her brain, but the thought wouldn't fully emerge. Edith shrugged  
and went back to work.

"Frank? Frank?" Edith sighed. "Oh, please tell me he didn't already leave." 

And his office was completely dark. Perfect. Her car breaks down, and  
Frank already left. Wonderful. This was so not what she needed right now. A  
million things she did need, and for her car to break down was definitely not on  
the list. Not even close. 

She pulled out her cell phone and punched in a number. A familiar man's  
voice answered. "Josh Lyman." 

"Hey, it's Edith." 

"'Sup?" 

"How soon are you, you know, leaving your office like a normal person?" 

She heard him sigh. "When I feel like it. Why?" 

She had to repress an irritated sigh of her own. "'Cause I need a ride,  
okay?" 

This time Josh chuckled. "Wait...let me get this straight. Miss  
my-car-never-ever-breaks-down needs a ride why?" 

"Because my car broke down." 

"Ah. And you want me to take you home." 

"Josh!" 

"Fine. Be there in about fifteen minutes okay?" 

"Fine." 

TBC...(oh the suspense...)

 


	7. Lilac 7

 

SEE PART ONE FOR INFO  
PART 7

  


A little while later they pulled up to the apartment Edith shared with  
Donna. Josh turned off the ignition. "You okay, Edith?" 

She was rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Yeah, I just...I have a  
headache." 

"Yeah." 

Edith sighed and looked out at the street through the windshield.   
"There's something that's really bugging me...it's just out of my reach and I  
can't grab it." 

Josh studied her face for a few moments, noting where her skin was drawn  
taut over her forehead and the corners of her jaw. This case was really getting  
to her. "Listen, Edith, you're going to go inside, you're going to lay down,  
and you're going to get some sleep. Because if you don't, you're going to run  
yourself ragged, and then you'll be absolutely useless to everyone." 

She let out a coarse laugh. "Right, and I'm going to take health advice  
from you." 

"I'm just saying." 

"Whatever. You coming in?" 

"Yeah. I'm all out of coffee at my place, so I though I'd steal some of  
yours and Donna's." 

"Sure," Edith said, opening the door, "not a problem. And 'cause you  
know there's no such things as grocery stores." 

Josh did the same. "They're all closed this late. So did you make any  
headway today?" 

"So you've never heard of Wal Mart? Yeah. Frank and I are pretty much  
agreed that where he keeps these women is in the basement of a church. This  
man's a master at aliases, so we have checks running on ID's of people  
associated with the many, many churches in this area." 

"Edith, you're talking about an incredibly large number of church-goers  
in the DC/Baltimore area. How long is that going to take?" 

"This man is a religious zealot, Josh. He fits a certain psychological  
file. Plus, coroner put the time of death for Claudia Brown at approximately  
two hours and fifteen minutes before cops found her body. That also narrows it  
down, considering time, distance, and traffic..." 

"Okay, I get your point. How long?" 

"I have people working around the clock, but it's not like I have the  
full force of the Bureau or anything, so about three days if we're lucky." 

"And if you're unlucky?" 

"Three weeks." 

Josh reached over and squeezed her shoulder as they walked down the  
sidewalk towards the building. Edith groaned and stopped as her cell phone  
rang. She flipped it open. "Agent Lyman." 

"You can't walk and talk at the same time?" 

Edith glared at Josh as she tried to listen to Frank, but kept walking  
just to keep him from another comment. "Yeah, Frank, I'm listening, but you're  
not making any sense right now. What the hell are you trying to say?" 

"I'm saying we have a psychological report from a Baltimore therapist  
named Dr. Brian Haven for Jacob Daniel, which is-" 

"One of the identified aliases of Boreman's," Edith interrupted Frank.   
"I'm listening." 

"Boreman's father was a pastor, a real bible-belt enthusiast. The kind  
that makes you want to beat them into the ground with a sledgehammer." 

"Yeah." 

Edith and Josh were approaching the stoop of the apartment building. 

"His mother," Frank went on, "was a prostitute." 

"Uh-huh." 

"His father would lecture little Boreman on the evils of woman just  
about every day. But, curiously, even despite the fact that she abandoned her  
son �" 

Edith again interrupted him. "The son resents the controlling father  
and longs for and identifies with the mother he's never known." 

Edith paused in front of the stoop. Josh heaved a sigh. She studiously  
ignored him. 

"So Boreman tracks down his mother in later years. It's her without a  
doubt, and you know what?" Frank paused to allow her to answer. 

"She gives him the whole 'I never wanted a child' thing?" 

"Yep. Obviously that sets him off. Guess something in him made him  
believe that Daddy knows best. And get this. I think I found our correlation." 

Edith, who'd been walking up the steps due to an irritated glance from  
Josh, paused again at the building entrance. 

"Spill, Frank. Now." 

"He'd told this therapist that his strongest childhood memory of his  
mother was her perfume. Same perfume she still wore when he tracked her down  
again." 

They were close to the apartment door now. Edith brought out her key.   
"What was the perfume?" she asked. 

"It was the sent of lilac." 

"Lilac?" 

"Yeah. Both Harriet Connor and Claudia Brown owned bottles of some sort  
of lilac-scented perfume. My bet is they both were wearing it the night they  
were abducted. I gotta run, call me if you get anything." 

"Yeah." Edith flipped shut the phone. That nagging that had been  
buzzing around her head for the entire day was now roaring. She lifted her key  
to the doorknob, and it all suddenly came crashing down on her. Lilac...that was  
exactly it. She'd noticed, but not really noticed it on the lists...she'd  
mentioned to Donna on the phone about the Lilac Breeze stuff from...Oh, God. 

Donna. 

Edith felt the bottom of her stomach drop as she lifted her eyes from  
the doorknob to the small but glaring cross carved into the middle of the  
apartment door.

  


"No. Oh, God, no." 

Josh was frowning at her. "Edith? Why is there a cross..." he trailed off as he  
got a better look at her face. "Edith? What's wrong?" 

She forced her mind to make coherent thought. She might not be too late. He  
might still be in there. Donna might not be gone. 

Damn it. Damn everything. 

Edith reached to her hip and brought out her gun without even considering Josh  
for a second. He jumped back, startled. Somewhere in her mind there was a  
twinge of guilt, but it was overridden. Josh wasn't the one in danger. 

"Stay where you are, Josh. Don't move unless I tell you to," she hissed  
between clenched teeth. 

The stricken look on his face didn't even register in her mind. All that did  
was the fact that he stayed put. 

She placed her back against the door, and as it swung open, she lifted her gun  
arm in an arc across the living room. The lights were still on. No one. 

Edith moved into the kitchen, where the lights were also on. No one. 

And into the hall. No one. 

Both bedrooms. No one. 

The bathroom. No one. 

She moved back out into the rest of the apartment, passing through the kitchen  
again. Her hand closed around the closest object, which she belatedly  
recognized as a glass as she hurled it against the kitchen wall. "Damn it!" 

And belatedly she remembered Josh in the hallway. She cursed again and  
holstered her gun. Josh was still standing where she'd left him. If this were  
another place and another situation the shock on his face might almost be funny.   
Almost. 

"Where's Donna?" 

"Come inside." 

It'd been a foolish hope. Donna had gone to Clarence's party. They must've  
decided to go out to the bars. Donna was wearing a lilac-scented perfume. She  
was noticed. He must've grabbed her inside or outside in the parking lot. He  
wouldn't have been stupid enough to bring her back here. He'd marked the door  
after...after he was sure she couldn't get away. 

Damn. 

She led Josh to the living room. "Edith. Where's Donna? What's happened to  
Donna?" 

"The cross on the door is the trademark of Edward Boreman, Josh." She was  
inwardly surprised at the mechanic quality of her voice. But thankful. She  
couldn't be in tears right now. She had to find Donna. 

"Is she...?" 

"No. Not yet." The last two words made Josh flinch. His knees obviously  
became weak, and he fumbled for the arm of the couch as he sat down. 

"Oh, God..." he whispered. 

Edith remained standing in the middle of the room. Flipping open her cell, she  
dialed a number. "Frank, it's Edith. He's got Donna...Yeah, that's her...yeah...I  
want you to get over there and light a fire under the asses of the agents doing  
the check...yeah, mention she works for the Deputy Chief of Staff of the White  
House...yeah." 

Josh was staring at her, at it seemed as if he was trying to will her to say  
something reassuring. She opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again.   
"We'll find her, Josh. So help me God, I will find her before he harms her." 

He nodded, and squeezed his eyes shut as it hit home. Donnatella Moss, the  
woman who held his life together, was in the hands of a serial killer. 

Edith flipped open the phone and dialed another number. 

"Sam Seaborn." 

"Sam, it's Edith." 

He must've picked up on the sound of her voice. "What's wrong?" 

Edith glanced at Josh, and retreated to the kitchen and lowered her voice.   
"It's Donna. She's..." 

"What? What's wrong with Donna?" 

Edith slammed her emotions down. She couldn't afford to break down right now.   
Donna needed her. "Sometime tonight, Donnatella Moss was abducted by Edward  
Boreman, a known serial killer." 

"Oh, God. Is she..." 

"No. Not yet." 

"Oh, God. Oh, my God. Donna?" 

Edith repressed a sigh. "Yes. Listen, Sam, I need you to pull it together and  
get your ass over to my apartment. Josh is here. He came in with me." 

"Yeah. I'll...I'll be right there." 

"Sam?" 

"Yeah?" 

Edith lowered her voice a bit more, though she sincerely doubted Josh was even  
trying to pay attention to anything. "Listen...there's a mark...on the door. It's  
how this guy...never mind. It's just...it's how I knew. There was still a slight  
chance that he might have been in the apartment. I had to take out my gun.   
Josh saw." 

"Oh, God." 

"Just get over here, okay?" 

"Yeah." 

Edith sighed as she notified DC police, and started to get in contact with the  
people Donna had been with. She just hoped Sam got there soon. 

TBC


	8. Lilac 8

 

SEE PART ONE FOR INFO  
PART 8

  


There was a knock. 

Maybe it would go away. 

The knock came again. President Josiah Bartlet of the United States muttered a  
very un-presidential word under his breath, threw off the blankets, and stumbled  
in the dark towards the bedroom door. In the bed, First Lady Abigail Bartlet of  
the United States groaned and sat up. "Jed?" Sleep was still thick in her  
voice. 

One of the few weeks his wife was actually home and someone dares knock at the  
door. Jed swore to everything holy that someone had better be sick or dying,  
the building had better be on fire, or someone had to have declared a war on the  
US. 

He yanked the door open and was confronted by Charlie. 

"Charlie, it's four in the morning, what the Hell..." he trailed off as he got a  
good look at Charlie's face. 

"Sir, earlier tonight Donna Moss was abducted outside a Georgetown bar by a man  
named Edward Boreman. Sir, Boreman is a known serial killer currently being  
tracked by the FBI, specifically by Special Agents Edith Lyman and Frank  
Thompson." 

"Oh, my God." 

"Yes, sir." 

"Donna? Donna Moss?" 

"Yes, sir." 

Jed's voice dropped a few degrees. "White House employee Donna Moss?" 

"Yes, sir." 

"I'll have his ass nailed to the Oval Office door. She's not..." 

"No, sir. But the FBI feels it's only short time, before... Leo McGarry's here." 

"Good. Have him get on the horn to the FBI and light a damn fire under their  
asses. Tell them they'd better through the full weight of the Bureau behind  
Agent Lyman, or I'll have their hides nailed as decoration in the West Wing as  
well. Tell them this is also a matter of national security." 

"Is it, sir?" 

"She's the assistant to the White House Deputy Chief of Staff. She's had  
access to sensitive material." 

"Yes, sir." 

By this time, Abbey had gotten out of bed and was standing beside Jed, her hand  
on his shoulder. "Where's Josh, Charlie?" she asked. 

"I've been told that Sam, CJ, and Toby are with him at Edith and Donna's  
apartment." 

"Get them here," Jed said. "Once the press finds out, they're going to pester  
Josh for a reaction, and the media up his ass is the last thing he needs right  
now. And he certainly doesn't need to be alone." 

"Yes, sir."

  


"This is bad." 

"Oh, you think, CJ?" Toby Ziegler and CJ Cregg stood in the bullpen outside of  
Josh's office. Inside, Sam sat across from a silent Josh. A far too silent  
Josh. 

"Toby. That's not what I meant. Josh...he's way too quiet." 

"CJ, a person very close to him has just been abducted by a serial killer who  
likes to rape his victims before he slits their throats. What do you want, for  
him to jumping up and down for joy?" 

"Toby." The tone of CJ's voice was a clear warning that he was on very  
dangerous ground. 

Toby closed his eyes for a second and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I know,  
CJ, I know. It's not like we're all not worried out of our skulls. For Donna  
and for Josh." He held out his arms. "What can we do, CJ? What? We can't do  
anything." 

"I know, I just..." 

"Has Edith called?" 

"No, I told her to call you." 

"Okay." Toby rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm going to go to my office and  
start throwing my stress ball at things. I'll call you if she calls me. And  
you call me if you need me. If you don't call, I'll be back soon anyway." 

"Okay." 

"Toby?" she called after him as he started to walk away. 

He turned around. "Yeah?" 

"It's driving you crazy, isn't it?" 

"Of course." 

"Okay." 

"Okay. Take care of him, will you?" 

"Yeah." CJ turned back towards Josh's office, wherein Josh sat silently with  
his hands folded, seemingly studying the colossal wasteland that was his desk.   
Sam sat in the guest chair, quiet as well, but not in his normal good-natured  
way. This was more of an  
I-have-absolutely-nothing-I-can-say-to-make-you-feel-better quiet. The tension  
in the room nearly made the hairs on CJ's arms stand on end. 

And it very nearly made her want to break into tears. She liked Donna. Hell,  
the woman was probably the best female friend CJ had right now. It was just  
that CJ didn't like to allow herself to get close to people...no, it wasn't even  
that. It was simply that she couldn't make relationships that she didn't have  
the time to maintain. 

Though she could probably stamp a real big 'idiot' on her forehead for that  
one. Donna was never one of those people that demanded attention from the  
people she called friends. She always just took what she got and never  
complained. At least not openly. CJ wondered for a moment whether it stemmed  
from such self-assurance that Donna never felt she needed attention, or  
insecurity in which she felt she never deserved it. She came to a realization  
that it had probably been a little bit of both. 

And her stomach dropped when she realized that she'd just thought of Donna Moss  
in the past tense. 

Taking a deep breath, she ground that thought into dust and headed into Josh's  
office. There was no way in hell that a negative attitude was going to help  
Donna, Josh, or anyone else. She considered honestly borrowing Lionel Tribbey's  
infamous cricket bat to knock some sense into Toby and Sam. 

"Toby said he'd be back in a few minutes." 

There was an imperceptible nod from Josh. Sam met her gaze as she sat herself  
in the second guest chair. "He's throwing the balls around again, isn't he?" 

"Yeah. Though I think it's just an excuse to baby-sit the phone." 

Sam nodded and went back to studying the floor. 

CJ repressed a sigh. Somehow she though trying to dispel the negative attitude  
wasn't going to work. "Josh." 

He didn't respond. He just stared at two mugs sitting on the surface of his  
desk, obviously containing old coffee. CJ and Sam exchanged looks. "Josh?" 

He picked up the mug closest to CJ, and turned the edge of it towards the  
light. The skin of his jaw line noticeably tightened. After a few moments, he  
spoke, his voice uncharacteristically harsh. "We were in here earlier,  
reviewing gun statistics. It was late and she was a bit tired of going over the  
same damn numbers. So was I. So I asked her to grab us coffee, and she just  
gave me that look. And then she said 'You're making me work late, so I think  
you should get me coffee.' So I got us coffee. I brought Donna coffee." He  
set the mug down and closed his eyes. "She used that mug. You can still see  
her lipstick marks." 

"Josh..." CJ whispered. She whispered because she couldn't speak. The pain was  
all too evident in his voice, something she wasn't accustomed to hearing. Even  
after the shooting, even after those horrible weeks around Christmas, he covered  
it as best he could. He tried to pretend nothing was wrong, and kept his own  
pain private. 

But there was no way in Hell he could pretend that nothing was wrong right now.   
In that minute, acknowledged by a glance shared between them, CJ and Sam  
understood something about Josh that they doubted he even knew himself. If  
Donna...if Donna died, there was a large part of Josh himself that would die with  
her. 

Maybe before Rosslyn he would have grieved and recovered. Before Rosslyn Donna  
was just an exceptional assistant and a good friend to Joshua Lyman. But now...   
After the shooting, in the hospital and after in his apartment, Donna had always  
been there. She was the one who guessed the source of Josh's behavior over  
Christmas; she was the one who actually knew the man virtually inside and out. 

Donnatella Moss had become a lifeline to Josh Lyman. And one CJ knew he'd  
drown without. 

And she wondered if �when it was all over, when they had Donna back (she  
refused to think otherwise) � he could be that lifeline for her. 

CJ made a resolution to herself in that moment, watching Josh as he still  
stared at Donna's lipstick marks on that mug. She resolved that when (not if.   
There was no if) they got Donna back, and if Josh finally realized what CJ and  
even Sam just had, she would support anything they did. There was no way they  
could ever come through this without each other, and right then and there CJ  
didn't give a flying damn about good and bad press. All she gave a damn about  
where two people she cared immensely for. And she resolved to herself that come  
hell or high water � or both � she would do the right thing for the people she  
loved.

To Be Concluded...


	9. Lilac 9

 

SEE PART ONE FOR INFO  
PART 9  
CONCLUSION Thanks for reading this far...

"Edith! Edith, we've got a go!" Frank burst into what Edith had termed  
'the war room', which was just an old briefing room in the J. Edgar Hoover  
building. 

She spun around just as Frank tossed her a bulletproof vest, a flashlight, and  
her coat. "Where?" she demanded. 

"First Church of The Assembly of God. It's �" 

"Never mind. Obviously we know where it is. Let's go." 

"Right."

"Guys? I got a call." 

CJ, Sam, and Josh all jerked their gazes towards the office doorway and slammed  
them on Toby. "Well?" CJ demanded before he even had time to open his mouth  
again. 

"She said they've got a place. Joint law enforcement's headed over there now." 

Josh shot to his feet. "Where, Toby? Is she okay?" 

"First Church of The Assembly of God, and they're not there yet, Josh." 

"I've got to �" 

"You've got to stay right here and keep your head, Josh." 

"Toby �" 

"No argument, Josh." 

CJ stood and put a hand on Josh's shoulder. "She'll be fine, but the last  
thing she needs is you getting in the way of the law enforcement trying to  
protect her. And remember, Edith's there." 

He didn't say anything, but he sat back down. 

CJ sighed and looked towards Toby. "Edith said she'd call again?" 

"Yeah."

  


Edward Boreman had used the alias of Richard Brick, a certified minister  
trained in the Bible belt, but who only occasionally gave guest sermons at the  
First Church of The Assembly of God. He liked to stay after hours in the  
church, for 'quiet meditation', which none of the congregation knew included the  
horrendous acts perpetrated against innocent women. Nobody used that old room  
downstairs in the basement. No one had a key but 'Reverend Brick'. Nobody  
suspected anything wrong or out of place. 

Until an organist who'd been practicing for next Sunday � and, coincidentally,  
suffered from acute insomnia � came back into the church's sanctuary late that  
evening to retrieve the music book she'd left behind earlier. An organist who  
heard a scream float up through the vent, followed by cursing in a different  
voice. The scream was unmistakably one of terror, and the cursing was heavy  
with anger. The organist had no misconceptions of her own strength, worried for  
her safety, and immediately called 911. 

The organist who heard a scream come from a woman she would later know as  
Donnatella Moss. 

It was Frank and Edith that found them. Boreman was attempting to push  
something through a basement window. A something that dropped to the floor when  
he tried and failed to escape. A something that Edith pulled the gags off of  
and cradled in her lap. A something that was Donnatella Moss. 

And Edith's body wracked with sobs of relief when she found that the something  
that was Donnatella Moss was still alive. Badly hurt, but still alive.

"Josh!" 

This time Toby burst into the office. "Josh, they found her. She's okay.   
She's alive." 

Josh, who'd jumped to his feet when Toby first appeared along with CJ and Sam,  
now expelled a breath that felt like he'd held it forever. And he sat back down  
because it felt like his legs would no longer support him. 

"Oh, God. Oh, thank God," Sam said, and apparently the weakness of legs was  
contagious. 

CJ still remained standing, although she seemed as though she was nearly crying  
with relief. After a moment, though, she sat down on the edge of Josh's desk. 

"Edith said she was hurt pretty bad, but the paramedics say she'll be fine.   
They took her to George Washington." 

"'Hurt pretty bad'?" Josh's head snapped up. 

"She's got a lot of scrapes, bruises, and a few broken bones, plus some cracked  
ribs and a concussion. But the paramedics says she'll be fine, Josh, and I'm  
sure the doctors will say the same." 

"I gotta get to the hospital." 

"The President's going to go with you so you don't have to deal with traffic,"  
Toby said as he steered Josh towards the Oval Office. 

"The President?" Josh echoed. 

"Yeah. Donna's the senior assistant to the Deputy Chief of Staff, Josh. And  
the President knows her on a personal level, remember?" 

"Yeah." He stopped walking and leaned against the nearest wall for a few  
passing moments. "Toby, they found her." 

"I know, Josh." 

"She's okay." 

"I know." He put a hand on Josh's shoulder. "Let's go." 

They passed through the outer office. "Is it over?" Mrs. Landingham asked in a  
quiet voice. 

"Yes," Toby said. "They found her." 

Josh nodded. "We have her back."

The End


End file.
